I've got to Han it to you...

It certainly took me a while, but I've finally finished with C. J. Cherryh's The Chanur Saga. Not the actual entire saga, just the omnibus containing the first three novels. I must say that it is a great read.

Of course, most of Cherryh's stuff is great. I've read and loved the Morgaine books and the omnibus The Faded Sun Trilogy. Cherryh is a great writer.

The Chanur books are centered around a race of aliens called the Hani. In fact the books are largely told from the perspective of the Hani captain of the ship Pride of Chanur, Pyanfar. This is a remarkable achievement, because the Hani are very believable aliens, unlike many other SF aliens who are the literary equivalent of the people with bits glued on their heads you see on tv shows.

I found the story to be exciting and interesting. It was also complicated, which isn't a bad thing, but made for slow reading. The other alien races, besides the Hani, are also very well done, especially the Kif, who aren't quite the complete villains they seem to be (at least that's what I think).

I can't be sure though, because of the publisher's blunder. The first book in this omnibus is a stand-alone novel, but the other two are part of a trilogy. Unfortunately, this means that I have no idea how the story ends. I'll have to buy Chanur's Homecoming if I want to find out. Not that I mind having to buy it, but I think the publishers would have been better of including Chanur's Homecoming, even if it meant cutting out The Pride of Chanur.

I give The Chanur Saga 4.5 yo-yos. I'd give it 5 if it wasn't for the publishing business. Anyway, I just got my latest book from Zooba, which is The Garret Files by Glenn Cook.